tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55409422012-01-29T10:20:07.768+01:00A forum of free voices discussing today's Italian politics and its historical rootsitalpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.comBlogger1291100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-39033925691238017742012-01-25T09:03:00.001+01:002012-01-26T16:25:32.931+01:00

Friday saw the long awaited and much leaked liberalisation decree. It is supposed to be the first step in the Crescitalia (“Grow Italy”) process that prime minister Mario Monti promised would follow his Salva Italia (“Save Italy”) austerity measures. He reckons that there are three obstacles to Italian economic growth: insufficient market competition, inadequate infrastructure and excessive

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-9314790090323889512012-01-18T23:00:00.002+01:002012-01-19T08:41:56.885+01:00

Italy has a problem digesting its history. At the Epiphany fair in piazza Navona there was a stall which happily sold Mussolini memorabilia alongside 1950s advertisements with leggy filmstars, with even a Hitler mug and another with a star of David – not so much historical schizophrenia as a complete lack of concern about the historical significance of the objects. It is not just the fascist

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-34546265524592108972012-01-16T23:44:00.001+01:002012-01-16T23:44:50.693+01:00

“Liberalisation” is the buzzword today but it is not always clear exactly what it means. One example: an American television journalist, Wolf Achtner, is doing something revolutionary – he is applying for the job of editor of the RAI’s flagship evening news programme, a post which is vacant at the moment. He is qualified and should be a plausible candidate so his application should not be news;

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-85792931436752740652012-01-14T17:20:00.000+01:002012-01-15T10:00:37.507+01:00

Those who compose dictionaries tell us that they just reflect the reality of the language and do not impose it – they are descriptive not normative; they argue that they do not tell us how to use a word, we use it and they record our use. In practice, we know that is not true; when we disagree on the meaning of a word, we rush to the OED or Websters to resolve the question and Scrabble players

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-23510591153886599552012-01-12T18:11:00.002+01:002012-01-12T18:11:26.131+01:00

Over the last week there was a crescendo of rumour and counter-rumour on the Constitutional Court’s likely verdict on whether to allow two referendums to change the Italian electoral system. The referendums were to be another moment in process of changing the whole political system. Now the Court has spoken and the answer is No. We will know the precise legal reasoning in a fortnight when they

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-27960565062839219972012-01-06T19:16:00.001+01:002012-01-06T19:16:52.616+01:00

Almost four years ago, the centre-right candidate for mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno played the law and order card and implicitly blamed immigrants for crime in Rome after a Romanian murdered an Italian woman. He won the elections but has not reduced violent crime. On Saturday, a young Chinese man, Zhou Zeng, and his 9 month old daughter were murdered apparently by two Italians in Tor Pignattara

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-81468231088112491942012-01-04T12:52:00.001+01:002012-01-04T16:00:48.126+01:00

On the day that the German president, Christian Wulff finds himself under pressure because of an equivocal soft loan of €500,000, Italian parliamentarians are moaning that they are worse off than their European colleagues. The rest of Italy is preparing to pay the reintroduced property tax, to put off retirement and is already paying €10 or €20 more every time they fill their car but the

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-71097795637704450542011-12-30T14:03:00.001+01:002011-12-30T14:09:28.177+01:00

After more than a century of quarantining pets, you may now take your cat or dog into Britain by just showing a vaccination certificate. Most reports of this earthshaking piece of news concentrate on the pets; instead, they should point at the free trade element which is far more significant. When we think of controlling lobbies in the UK, most of us would look at the City, the defence industry,

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-42136040502254207632011-12-18T12:10:00.002+01:002011-12-19T12:59:47.485+01:00

Back in July, the Northern League European MP, Mario Borghezio made a clumsy attempt to explain and justify the Norwegian murderer, Anders Breivik’s motives for his killing spree. “Some of his ideas are good, excellent”. He was forced to apologise but ended up claiming that the Norwegian chargé d’affaires had “thanked him” for the apology. Racism in Italy is nothing like as virulent as it has

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-17746421659725934022011-12-05T18:43:00.001+01:002011-12-18T12:11:03.475+01:00

That great cartoonist, Vicky (Victor Weisz) got it right more than 50 years ago when he drew the aristocratic Harold Macmillan as the cutthroat Macheath , Mack the Knife. Mario Monti is as polite and well-mannered as Macmillan and is trying to deal with Italy’s debt in a similarly surgical way. Yesterday he presented his new budget to the press; today he has taken it to Parliament and

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-24553988629421899922011-12-03T11:16:00.001+01:002011-12-03T11:59:55.225+01:00

A month ago, I wrote about a project the American University of Rome was working on with the Rome City Council; the first phase came to end this week with a closing ceremony. More importantly, the whole issue of immigrants in Italy and their children has become an important part of the political agenda. Last week an immigrant boat was wrecked on the coast of Apulia; three died. Most of the

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-43539603678870327462011-11-30T18:25:00.001+01:002011-11-30T18:38:21.300+01:00

Conspiracy theories are a alive and well in Italy. Today’s editorial by Marco Travaglio in Il Fatto Quotidiano is headlined “Giù il cappuccio” (Off with the hood) which he repeats in the text. His point is that the new junior ministers in Monti’s government have political pedigrees (and sometimes not very clean ones) behind their “technical” qualifications. Fair enough… but why introduce the

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-80227628927141118582011-11-28T15:56:00.001+01:002011-11-28T16:21:19.890+01:00

In his farewell video, Silvio Berlusconi said that he was not going to give up politics… on the contrary, he would double his effort to change the country. One of his supporters here in Rome put up posters saying that he too would “double” whether efforts or stakes in not clear. On the face of it, there is no reason to presume that Berlusconi is out of politics for good. After he resigned, he

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-10131071482636541822011-11-25T16:04:00.001+01:002011-11-25T16:16:16.242+01:00

Italy’s new prime minister is the antithesis of his predecessor. Not only are there no dirty jokes, orgies and multiple properties vaunted before visiting heads of state, there is almost no spin, no promises and no instant remedies. Mario Monti’s style reflects the other side of Milan and Italy as a whole as does the other Mario – Draghi who took over as head of the European Central Bank a

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-37570832195525245632011-11-10T18:10:00.000+01:002011-11-10T18:10:10.115+01:00

For the oncologist, a cancer can be fascinating – for the patient, rather less. Studying Italian politics is truly enthralling, living it and facing the consequences leaves one a lot less enthralled. The moves and counter moves over the last few days have the allure of the Spassky-Fisher chess clash and are a lot more understandable to the non-initiated, but as a citizen facing the possible

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-21505607648485660572011-11-07T23:16:00.000+01:002011-11-07T23:22:32.893+01:00

Silvio Berlusconi’s demise is imminent. It might happen tomorrow when the Chamber votes on last year’s budget statement. It might happen the day after tomorrow if the opposition tables a motion of no confidence. It might happen next week when the Senate votes on the reform package that the government put to the European institutions last week. Or he might just be able to drag it out until January

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-60560352350467117592011-11-04T16:01:00.001+01:002011-11-05T11:38:24.020+01:00

Lele Luzzati’s picture of the she-wolf playing with children of different colours while looking after her foundlings is a perfect image of an Italy we hope is being created. And with a little help from our friends we made a tiny contribution last month with a two day seminar for potential future immigrant community leaders working with the Rome city authorities. The biggest single change in

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-23352160037733083142011-11-03T18:40:00.002+01:002011-11-03T18:40:55.157+01:00

Once upon a time in a republic far, far away, every year or so the natives went through a fascinating, time consuming and very baroque rite to decide which of a restricted group of tribal elders should be chief for the next 11 months. Occasionally it took a week or so, other times up to four months. Soothsayers spent hours observing the auguries to try and predict the future leader; the entrails

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-48439343139968167792011-11-02T17:54:00.001+01:002011-11-02T18:18:32.339+01:00

As always, Giannelli is sharp and elegant and this time prescient. A few months ago, the Corriere della Sera cartoonist drew a skeletal version of Leonardo’s human figure on the one euro piece with the caption “ero” meaning “I was” – instead of “euro”. Giannelli’s day job used to be at Italy’s oldest bank, the Monte de Paschi di Siena so his insights into the financial crisis are very much to

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-56422076284642191602011-10-30T15:29:00.001+01:002011-10-31T15:32:10.314+01:00

Or put more simply, Berlusconi is still between a rock and a hard place. After all the hype over the last week about “last chance for the euro”, for Europe, for Berlusconi and his government and the apparent solution, what has actually happened? Here in Rome or in Brussels, Paris and Berlin? This time there is a real risk of the government falling from the pressure of the European institutions

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-34163573943047746312011-10-20T18:24:00.001+02:002011-10-20T18:24:29.318+02:00

The other evening I was talking to an Argentinian who gave me graphic descriptions of their 2001 crisis – not the default and the financial side which is fairly clear in an abstract sort of way, but the social side. He explained that just about everyone had to go down a rung or two or more on the social ladder. Not a pretty sight and even less pretty to be part of. But of course it can’t happen

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-26898223716902684822011-10-17T19:22:00.000+02:002011-10-17T19:26:21.774+02:00

The most shocking aspect of Saturday’s riot in Rome was the fact that it did not come as a shock. For 10 years now in Italy, at least since the violence at Genoa’s G8 in 2001, there has been the strong possibility of protest marches being hijacked by relatively small numbers of very well organised, well prepared thugs. It happened in Rome last year after the 14 December vote of confidence and

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-81560440791981344672011-10-13T18:29:00.002+02:002011-10-13T18:34:33.792+02:00

While the rest of Europe is worrying about the possible implosion of the euro, Berlusconi is once again marshalling his forces for a vote of confidence tomorrow. The reason this time is a combination of a disintegrating coalition and sloppy parliamentary management. The government was defeated on Tuesday on a division on article 1 of last year’s budget account. This should be and normally is a

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-13700472417512073652011-10-09T20:38:00.000+02:002011-10-13T16:30:18.775+02:00

On Friday I went to El Valle de los Caídos, Francisco Franco’s massive monument to himself, to Catholicism and in theory, at least, the dead (caídos) of the Spanish Civil War. Its size is impressive, half hidden, half visible for miles around a fitting metaphor for Franco himself. The visibile part (for 40 km) is a 150 m. high cross whose arms are 46 m., supposedly the largest in the world.

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-63189712863878243022011-10-02T18:15:00.000+02:002011-10-03T23:14:17.073+02:00

Referendums are an arcane branch of politics; electoral systems even more so – combined they are normally as stimulating as a valium-camomile cocktail. But once again, Italy is different and yesterday’s news that the promoters of an election reform referendum managed to gather more than 1.2 million signatures is news indeed, and of much more interest than Berlusconi’s latest Montenegrin “fiancée”

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-55032372799630084362011-09-19T13:10:00.002+02:002011-09-19T13:23:50.833+02:00

More than 2,400 years ago, Plato observed that every nation needs a foundation myth and described how it might be done, and a lot more recently Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger in The Invention of Tradition analysed some of the lies and half-truths that most of us use to create our national identity. So we’ve had a long time to understand the dark art of nationbuilding. Even so, watching Umberto

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-57084239714206134822011-09-17T19:31:00.005+02:002011-09-18T11:17:38.198+02:00

Every Italian schoolchild knows that the Piedmontese prime minister sent troops to fight with the British and French in Crimea in the hope that at the end of the war, Piedmont would have a place among the powers to negotiate the peace settlement. Not for the last time, the Piedmont’s and then Italy’s crack bersaglieri were playing diplomats more than warriors. In the event, Piedmont took its

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-40524723642852259732011-09-12T13:36:00.000+02:002011-09-12T13:36:46.693+02:00

Italian politicians have a pretty high opinion of the themselves on the whole. They are furbi or cunning, and are, after all, the heirs of the inventor of modern politics, Niccolò Machiavelli and no one is sharper than him… The self-congratulatory Berlusconi has declared himself the best prime minister Italy has ever had and has rated himself on par with Justinian and Napoleon as a lawgiver. His

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-34165865133857025662011-08-06T16:38:00.006+02:002011-08-06T16:50:21.006+02:00

For the last month, Italy has been buffetted more than most by the financial storm hitting Europe and the US. In the last week, the storm became a hurricane and there is no guarantee that it won’t continue or even worsen next week. Far from being the most relaxed time of year with everyone by the seaside or about to go, politicians are looking forward to a hard, fraught and working August. The

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-37546156117892681592011-07-23T18:21:00.001+02:002011-07-23T18:26:50.329+02:00

Power is like a liquid, sometimes erupting under pressure to cover all around it, sometimes seeping through cracks to find its own levels. The Italian President has no volcanic properties but when there is a vacuum he can and does fill it. There has been much talk over the last ten days about Giorgio Napolitano increasing the role and importance of the president. Some say that he is overstepping

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-46086246566526562882011-07-19T17:55:00.000+02:002011-07-19T17:55:40.684+02:00

There’s talk of David Cameron having to step down and of course the chorus of calls for Silvio Berlusconi to resign is rising. So a little comparison of the two systems might be interesting. Both countries have prime ministerial systems – that means that the head of government stays in power for as long as he or she has the confidence of Parliament. If they lose that confidence, either in an

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-133161060084689672011-07-19T09:50:00.000+02:002011-07-19T09:50:16.693+02:00

For those of us not versed in the dark arts of accounting or international finance, there is little more solid than money; I have it or I don’t, I can borrow it or lend it and measure it down to the last penny. But confidence is an altogether different commodity, far more abstract and difficult to gauge. This week, Italy is having to persuade us that the world should have confidence in the

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-6726294151638619062011-07-17T18:42:00.000+02:002011-07-17T18:42:12.071+02:00

Governments and financial markets are run by hardheaded men and a few women who deal with facts, like Mr. Gradgrind… they evaluate the data and don’t let emotions get in the way of their pursuit of power and profit, right? Well, no, not exactly. The markets yo-yo at every half-truth and successful politicians must control the image before the facts. Rumor is a much better metre than Gradgrind’s “

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-86124901537152204242011-07-05T14:14:00.001+02:002011-07-05T18:13:54.777+02:00

As I wrote on Sunday, the final text of the budget bill had not been sent to President Napolitano so we didn’t know some of the details. Yesterday the bill was finally published and the reason for Tremonti’s modesty was made clear. Once again and in a blatantly gross way, Berlusconi is using the government to protect his personal interests. Hidden in the folds of the bill are a couple of

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-54643305433568347312011-07-03T15:14:00.003+02:002011-07-03T15:29:04.516+02:00

Mel Brooks’ 2000 year old man explained it perfectly “Robin stole from everyone and kept everything”. It was Marty, the press agent who put out the story “he took from the rich and gave to the poor” to all the papers. “Who knew? He give you such a knock on the head that you wouldn’t remember anything anyway”. Economics minister Giulio Tremonti is trying to emulate that version, but he doesn’t

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-34372624918351581512011-06-30T10:47:00.004+02:002011-06-30T10:52:38.659+02:00

The Greeks have a word for it and they seem to be in the middle of practicing it. Catharsis is the dramatic liberating moment of a tragedy which allows the survivors to pick themselves up and start again. But that does not happen in Italy. Last week we were supposed to have one of those moments, a verifica or reckoning with the truth between the government coalition allies (which passed with

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-32643255451425324202011-06-28T15:23:00.004+02:002011-06-28T15:29:34.105+02:00

This is going to be a busy and challenging week for the government. An undersecretary declared very publicly on Sunday that Tremonti’s proposed budget should be examined by a psychiatrist. Then one of Tremonti’s closest advisors resigned because he is under investigation; the tension between Bossi and Berlusconi continues and yesterday saw the confrontation between police and anti-high speed

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-21646572953397024852011-06-20T12:26:00.003+02:002011-06-28T14:53:10.807+02:00

“Long live freedom, long live an independent Padania!” Not for nothing the self-declared “Celts” of the Northern League worship Braveheart as one of their heroes. But Mel Gibson/William Wallace cries “freedom!” a moment before execution; after his rendering yesterday at the Northern League’s annual rally at Pontida, Roberto Maroni went back to his day job of being a minister of the Republic of

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-8862037349026588192011-06-17T12:16:00.001+02:002011-06-30T13:11:45.727+02:00

Yesterday was Bloomsday, the day when Leopold Bloom journeyed round Dublin, himself, his wife and just about everything else. And not only the then known world, Joyce had a clear eye for the future, it seems. One of the rituals of Bloomsday is to read a portion of Ulysses with friends – we had the following passage which struck me as germane to present goings on in Italy. Leopold is pondering a

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-91438605766250002802011-06-13T17:57:00.006+02:002011-06-14T09:24:50.527+02:00

Before polls closed this morning, Prime Minister Berlusconi admitted to the visiting Bibi Netanyahu that Italy’s nuclear energy programme was over and that he should concentrate on renewables. There is another nuclear option available, though, but not to Berlusconi; if his essential ally, Umberto Bossi decides to withdraw the Northern League’s support at their annual rally at Pontida on Sunday,

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-50117548160529108042011-06-12T13:55:00.000+02:002011-06-12T13:55:32.199+02:00

It’s been a bad week for Berlusconi. On Monday Bill Emmot in The Times said “the Italian Prime Minister is a political vegetable — one that’s riddled with E. coli” and predicted his imminent political demise. Then Ariel Levy produced an elegant eleven page description of Berlusconi sleaze in The New Yorker “Basta bunga bunga”. And now The Economist has produced yet another devastating dossier,

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-76413480074931805392011-06-10T16:24:00.002+02:002011-06-10T16:50:43.012+02:00

This is an explosive week for the Vatican and Brussels even if neither are normally given to incendiary behaviour. The Pope visited Croatia last weekend and as in the past was less than subtle in his admonitions. He hoped that Croatia would soon complete its EU accession process because the country is after all “at the centre of Europe, Mitteleuropa, not the Balkans” a phrase which was no doubt

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-80948896349512881322011-06-08T12:17:00.006+02:002011-06-08T18:59:16.102+02:00

As expected, the Constitutional Court declared yesterday that the referendum on nuclear energy should go ahead. More surprising was that their verdict was unanimous. We shouldn’t have been surprised after the new president, Alfonso Quaranta said “unofficially” on Monday that there were no grounds for not holding the referendum. Given the the political composition of the Court it would have been

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-71528941341907262152011-06-06T20:06:00.002+02:002011-06-06T20:13:49.723+02:00

On Sunday and Monday, Italians will vote once again, the third time in a month. This time it is the whole population, just over 50 million; they have to decide on four referendums, nuclear power, water (two) and the so called “legitimate impediment”. In practice, once again and despite strenuous denials from all sides, the real issue is Berlusconi and his government. The Swiss use referendums

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-56588475028671565242011-06-02T14:05:00.002+02:002011-06-02T16:30:23.328+02:00

This year Italians (some of them at any rate) celebrated the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the kingdom of Italy. It has been a series of low key events partly because there’s not a lot to celebrate in Italy at the moment but mainly because a good part of the government would like to secede. The date was 17 March when the new kingdom of Italy was officially proclaimed in the

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-30368671908201476392011-05-30T18:35:00.002+02:002011-05-30T20:12:17.773+02:00

A week ago, Berlusconi’s archrival put it very clearly and presciently “Berlusconi was politically born in Milan, and in Milan he has politically died,” says the industrialist Carlo De Benedetti. The results were better than anyone on the centre left had dared hope for. First of all Milan with 55.1% for Pisapia, and 44.89% Moratti; a double whammy against an unsuccessful mayor and a grossly

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-46327992184766461632011-05-28T13:02:00.001+02:002011-05-28T13:03:18.833+02:00

Umberto Bossi is no Dorian Gray but somewhere in his attic, he has a locked cupboard. Instead of a portrait, there is a set of scales; one side weighs the advantages that the coalition with Berlusconi brings the Lega Nord (LN, Northern League). The other side measures the cost of that alliance in electoral terms. Not being privy to Bossi’s inspections, I do not know which side is heavier, but I

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-82393615217484719942011-05-17T14:30:00.002+02:002011-05-17T14:30:24.133+02:00

The Milan elections were always about much more than who was going to be the next mayor. For more than a month Silvio Berlusconi campaigned as if his premiership and personal reputation depended on it. He stood as a candidate for the council hoping to win more personal preference votes than his 52,000 in the last local elections in 2006. In Italy’s double ballot system (where if no one wins an

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-77355320409904056722011-05-13T18:44:00.000+02:002011-05-13T18:44:26.514+02:00

Local elections are normally fairly tedious affairs, more about street lighting and trams. They become more interesting in Naples where refuse collection (or lack of it) is a major issue but wherever they’re held, they are an indication of what might happen in the next elections, but just an indication, a small blip on the barometer. But Berlusconi’s Italy is not “normal” as we well know and with

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-47230810980883618342011-05-04T15:28:00.002+02:002011-05-04T16:59:32.707+02:00

Tomorrow the Contact Group for Libya meets in Rome. The summit is co-chaired by the Italian foreign minister, Franco Frattini and the Qatari prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani. Hillary Clinton will be there along with NATO secretary, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the British and French foreign ministers as well as representatives of the Arab League and the

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-75140323394393482322011-05-01T12:36:00.003+02:002012-01-13T15:12:56.520+01:00

Ebenezer Scrooge thought that any festivities were humbug, particularly Christmas and anything else which might stop him making money and which disrupted his normal way of life. I can sympathise – not so much about the money which I’m not very good at but certainly about the disruption. Last week I was in London which was preparing for the Royal Wedding and this weekend I am a fugitive from Rome

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-60153990740165164112011-04-17T18:01:00.001+02:002011-04-17T18:03:21.683+02:00

There are many serious issues facing Italy at the moment and I hope that sooner or later I will be able to comment on them – the role of immigrants in Italian society and their integration, the concerns of employers and unions on how to move the economy forward, Italy’s lack of influence in international relations even in areas where there are serious interests. All worthy topics, but once again,

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-22791073486480480342011-03-28T21:43:00.001+02:002011-03-28T22:18:43.345+02:00

For the first time in almost 8 years Silvio Berlusconi appeared in a Milan court this morning. It had little to do with the law and a lot to do with political theatre. After years of shunning the courts, he has decided that the best defence is attack and attack on his own terms, not the court’s. Until now, he appeared in the dock as little as possible; now he has said that he will dedicate

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-57766439379571045052011-03-17T17:19:00.002+01:002012-01-15T18:30:41.187+01:00

There is an essential incongruency seeing prelates celebrating an anti-clerical movement led mainly by Masons. Or of proven republicans celebrating the proclamation of a new kingdom. Or of the left celebrating an elitist movement in which in 1861, only 1.8% of the population were enfranchised. But anniversaries are all about symbols and today’s politics and not very much about real history. In

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-86480489956354712052011-03-14T17:39:00.002+01:002011-03-14T21:00:17.615+01:00

Whatever happens in Libya over the next few days and weeks will have more impact on Italy than any other country apart from Libya itself. And yet there is a deafening silence in Italy about what should be done there. In the US there is a furious debate over whether America should intervene or not and if so, how. It cuts across party lines and covers politics, ethics and commercial interests.

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-68194524769733124532011-03-11T17:06:00.003+01:002011-03-11T17:18:43.643+01:00

No one denies that the administration of justice in Italy is in a mess; the length of trials is measured against eternity with civil cases being handed down lovingly from parent to child like some sort of heirloom even though criminal liability is thankfully extinguished at death so that the sins of the fathers are not visited on the sons, at least not legally. The adage “justice delayed is

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-7236888701789095822011-02-20T11:48:00.000+01:002011-02-20T11:48:10.502+01:00

This last week has been hectic for Italy-watchers with first a huge demo last Sunday which might, just might, mean the beginning of a change of direction in Italian society. Then on Tuesday there was Berlusconi’s indictment on charges of under age prostitution and abuse of power. The first hearing will be on 6 April but before then we will have hearings for his three other prosecutions (two for

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-21722235119438485602011-02-15T19:13:00.000+01:002011-02-15T19:13:11.898+01:00

There are two dramas being played in Italy today. The first is Silvio Berlusconi’s personal and political story. It combines political power and sex, high finance and the media, organized crime and corruption; a heady mix by any standards and one which makes the characters from “Dallas” look tame. With the Roman settings and operatic staging, there have been times when it looked like Benny Hill

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-6937761822844172011-02-12T18:23:00.003+01:002011-02-12T18:58:33.262+01:00

Italy’s image abroad reels under each revelation of Silvio Berlusconi’s private life – the sex, the parties, the favours and largesse and political jobs given to pretty young women. Berlusconi has become an instantly recognisable peg for comics across the world to hang their jokes on. At home the prime minister’s lifestyle leaves him open to blackmail not only by the girls who go to his parties

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-88447530365157640262011-02-06T17:10:00.000+01:002011-02-06T17:10:19.016+01:00

Italian politics today make Lewis Carroll’s world seem remarkably staid but The Walrus and the Carpenter is as good a place as any to start any voyage through the absurd. Italy does not have a king any more but it does have a president and this last week he was an important figure. The 84 year old Giorgio Napolitano might have thought that he would have just a ceremonial and elder statesman role

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-33181938653624658902011-02-06T16:27:00.002+01:002011-02-06T16:32:31.584+01:00

Many thanks to those of you who reminded me that Michelangelo’s David is not in the Uffizi but in the Accademia. The point remains, wherever the illustrious marble stands: who owns it? And who can use for good or ill? Now we are told that two days after the government tried to push their municipal federalism decree past President Napolitano, the Grand Canal belongs to the Italian state and not

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-18799280854529034972011-01-30T18:57:00.001+01:002011-01-30T19:10:38.147+01:00

We’ve heard so much about Italian women being bimbos prepared to do anything to get a part in “Big Brother” or a job in politics that you might be forgiven for thinking that it’s the only truth. Unfortunately it is indeed true that a large number of Italian women think that sex is the best way to success, and not only the younger ones. But it is far from being the only truth. Today, the left

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-13678752372152132632011-01-30T12:00:00.002+01:002011-01-30T19:04:13.729+01:00

Italy is not just concerned with the prime minister's sex life. On Friday there were demonstrations across the country with the CGIL in particular preparing the ground for their battle with Fiat over the new contract that Fiat CEO, Sergio Marchionne signed with the other unions last year. This is certainly not anything like a full scale revolution - both the labour movement and the centre left

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-1859056053500904832011-01-28T15:36:00.002+01:002011-01-29T20:28:12.407+01:00

Fiscal federalism is one of the core issues of the now wobbling Berlusconi government. Umberto Bossi, the leader of the Northern League (LN), made it the key issue in his support for Berlusconi in both the September and December votes of confidence. He also said last month that if the first of the enabling laws was not passed by 28 January, he would insist on early elections. That was a paper

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-57651321887934167392011-01-27T09:25:00.003+01:002011-01-28T11:10:34.086+01:00

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-51538095416169143442011-01-26T14:30:00.002+01:002011-01-26T14:30:38.183+01:00

A fortnight away and once again, everything changes in Italy; and yet, and yet, when I asked a friend what had happened while I was away, he replied, depressed, “Nothing!” Actually, lots of things are happening but it is very difficult to make sense of events beyond the immediate scandals. A couple of days ago, a deputy confessed to me that he really had no idea of what was going on and how it

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-59365134006869129292011-01-04T14:11:00.001+01:002011-01-04T14:12:36.685+01:00

Politics is not only the grand activities of leaders or the effects of big numbers – economical, electoral or social. It is also the sum total of millions of tiny events, decisions and discussions. Politics is about the distribution of power and resources, material and non-material; political science tries to analyse that tangled mess. The Winter programme that my university, The American

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-24446673906247722372010-12-30T13:18:00.003+01:002010-12-31T11:08:31.844+01:00

Last week as Parliament was about to pass the controversial university reform bill, Rome braced itself for trouble. On 14 December, the week before, street violence had once again erupted with pictures of cars in flames in the Corso and Piazza del Popolo; masked and helmeted youths and policemen beating each other. Thunderflashes and molotovs were much in evidence. Windows were smashed and ATMs

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-67935030343023099342010-12-20T15:48:00.000+01:002010-12-22T12:36:05.760+01:00

Or the Vicar of Bray, Italian style (“And to this law I will maintain/ Unto my dying day, Sir./ That whatever King may reign, /I will be the Vicar of Bray”) The last week before the confidence votes were marked by violent polemics over the cattlemarket for wavering deputies. The opposition has made it very clear that Berlusconi played dirty in the ways he inveigled the less principled into his

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-30486181290197109602010-12-18T13:21:00.000+01:002010-12-22T12:39:37.118+01:00

Italy is full of significant dates but 14 December is not going to be one of them. The no confidence vote was hyped in both Italian and foreign media as being a crucial date for Berlusconi and for Italy but even before the result it was clear that the vote would resolve very little. If he had lost the vote, today would certainly provide more interesting copy with endless speculation about whether

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-88565823023480848062010-12-12T20:35:00.000+01:002010-12-22T12:44:51.235+01:00

We all know that Silvio Berlusconi is immortal according to his doctor or at the very least that he is good for 120 years as he told Vladimir Putin recently. But just in case he is not prime minister for the next 46 years and especially if he is not prime minister after Tuesday’s vote of no confidence, as I promised on Friday, now is a good time to look at possible successors. If he were to step

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-22403495225654937202010-12-10T13:55:00.001+01:002010-12-22T12:56:04.658+01:00

Most of the foreign media seem to think that Italy is coming to the end of an era and that on Tuesday Berlusconi’s long moment at centre stage will be over. The Italian media are concerned about the detail – will he, won’t he get a majority? Who has changed sides? Why? And for how much? For those who find Italian politics too arcane or too tedious to follow in its minutiæ, you should know that

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-32135071924952515872010-11-07T15:05:00.001+01:002010-12-22T14:18:11.408+01:00

The gauntlet has been thrown down, and with a vengeance. Gianfranco Fini has finally come out into the open from his guerrilla warfare and has declared an open war. At the end of a passionate and expertly articulated speech, he came to the climax with a call to Silvio Berlusconi to resign. Fini succeeded once again in passing on the responsibility for early elections and potential chaos to

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-58333117484033371822010-11-04T19:19:00.001+01:002010-12-22T14:19:02.950+01:00

At the risk of being repetitive, the Italian media and a good portion of foreign commentators are once again agog at Berlusconi’s sex life and above all, his abuse of power. We can only echo Yogi Berra wearily, “It’s déjà vu all over again”. For a moment, one was tempted to think that this was all a great plot by a diabolically devious Berlusconi; his friendship with “Ruby” the now 18 year old

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-46104292948267620372010-10-30T12:27:00.000+02:002010-12-18T16:06:25.061+01:00

With enemies like this, who needs friends… the opposition in Italy For years now, the joke has been that Berlusconi’s best allies are the centre left. Unfortunately, for years it has not been a joke – it’s true. Now that we are likely to have elections next spring, the question has become a very practical and urgent one not just for the centre-left but the whole democratic process. In April 2008,

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-70182896551000126392010-10-01T18:31:00.000+02:002010-12-18T22:30:37.920+01:00

A comment on "Ahi serva Italia" Italy hasn't changed over the centuries, has it? That is why it remains so frustratingly lovable, in its eternal adolescence, even in the eyes of the foreign beholder! What must be stressed, nowadays, is that Berlusconi is the consequence, not the cause, of the much lamented general meltdown of Italian politics."

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-76599177244801391492010-09-29T12:33:00.000+02:002010-09-29T12:33:43.071+02:00

"No-one doubts that he will win the vote." "Berlusconi will celebrate his birthday with a rousing majority..." Sorry, I thought we were expecting some political excitement...Or might it all go pear-shaped even at this late juncture? Thanks, PP Very unlikely today - the vote is scheduled for 19.00 today. But it will almost certainly go pearshaped again in a few months. JW

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-90001216787656270472010-09-29T12:23:00.001+02:002010-09-29T12:23:06.036+02:00

A lucid and fair analysis of the latest developments in traditionally-murky Italian politics, though I am sure Blair will not appreciate being paired with Berlusconi. It is still unclear whether Fini's long conversion to the middle ground of Italian politics is genuine, or whether it is solely motivated by a lust for power. What is even more worrying is the ineptitude of the Italian left to

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-76169694760332476712010-09-29T08:04:00.001+02:002010-12-18T16:07:35.159+01:00

Berlusconi’s Birthday not quite the OK Corral For the last week or so, there has been growing tension over today’s debate on Berlusconi’s “Five Point Plan”. Will he, won’t he make it into a vote of confidence? (it is a vote of confidence). What sort of majority will he have? (No one doubts that he will win the vote). Will this really mean peace in the governing coalition and the possibility of

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-90418878045124298792010-09-20T18:02:00.000+02:002010-12-18T16:11:10.581+01:00

More on “Ahi serva Italia”. Last week’s blog was republished in Foreign Policy and provoked some responses. The most public was from Giulio Terzi, the Italian ambassador in Washington: To put it simply, the article by James Walston, whose title I will avoid mentioning so as not to spread its vulgarity, is a clear example of faziosita’ (factiousness). And Mr Waltson’s choice of Dante’s quote may

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-37789949908297913332010-09-13T23:38:00.000+02:002010-12-18T16:08:37.021+01:00

Ahi serva Italia, di dolore ostello, 
nave sanza nocchiero in gran tempesta, 
non donna di province, ma bordello! Quoting Dante (or Shakespeare, Wilde, Shaw) is, I admit the last resort of a scoundrel or at least the indolent scribe. But this one is too apposite not to use. Roughly translated, it reads “Alas enslaved Italy, inn of sorrow, a ship without a helmsman in a great storm, not a queen of

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-14517395488984261452010-08-31T22:15:00.001+02:002010-12-18T16:09:14.063+01:00

Dangerous liaisons There was something profoundly depressing watching the style, expertise and control of the two cavalry squadrons performing on Monday night in Rome. Maybe a hundred horses and riders wheeled charged and feinted in a breathtaking series of manoeuvres, trotting, cantering, galloping in near perfect unison in close order with sabres drawn. Then the camera cuts to two elderly men

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-49950435869544517642010-08-22T19:15:00.000+02:002010-12-18T16:09:50.199+01:00

Salami tactics – Berlusconi’s legacy Once again the opposition smells blood, Berlusconi’s blood, and hopes grow that the nightmare might be ending. On Friday he came back to Rome to chair a party summit to deal with the Fini secession – he looked terrible; puffy and bloated, visibily overweight and spouting fire and brimstone more in anger than coherence. He no longer has an absolute majority in

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-7280579547890453552010-08-17T19:18:00.000+02:002010-12-18T16:10:29.939+01:00

Bards and storytellers – summer entertainment It would be nice at Ferragosto when all of Italy stops not to talk about the Prime Minister for once, but even around 15 August, it is difficult to avoid him. Going to the theatre is normally an entertainment and nothing more, but this year there is a storyteller who makes opposition to Berlusconi into an evening out. Italy’s summer shows are justly

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-67355572777766480052010-08-10T09:22:00.000+02:002010-08-10T09:22:12.578+02:00

To vote or not to vote In the mid-90s I used to teach a course on Italian politics every two years in the spring and from ’92 to ’96 the powers that were very kindly gave me a general election to illustrate my course with. After a decade of stability, we seem to be returning to the more usual confusion and continuous jockeying for small slices of power. There is a pretty good chance that

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-33568298975423499072010-08-01T17:09:00.000+02:002010-08-10T09:24:03.221+02:00

A die is cast. After almost 17 years as Berlusconi’s bridesmaid, Gianfranco Fini has finally decided that he has had enough. In a very stormy week, the unlikely cooperation between Fini and Berlusconi came formally to an end with Fini and his followers being expelled from the Popolo della Libertà and setting up their own group. It looked like a catharsis, something like a make or break,

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-2523625675603655962010-07-26T23:26:00.000+02:002010-07-26T23:26:30.718+02:00

James, As I recall, by 1995 the received wisdom in anti-mafia circles (eg Pino Arlacchi, Leoluca Orlando, the Milan Pool) was that the high profile killings of Falcone and Borsellino and the unmasking of Andreotti as the Sicilian Mafia's reference point in Rome following Salvo Lima's assassination (and the decline of his tendenza in the shortly to implode Christian Democrat Party) was a

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-44851125507105607162010-07-26T23:15:00.000+02:002010-07-26T23:23:14.945+02:00

On Fini: Comparing Fini to Berlinguer is a bit of a heresy. But that's just my opinion. On Casini: he clearly stated he doesn't want to be part of the maggioranza. Do you think he might change his mind? Isn't the PdL and the Lega enough to govern? On the "end" of the Berlusconi era: Is it really that over? I don't know if the government might actually fall (I remember in the years 2001-2006 we

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-81548632055223900652010-07-26T23:12:00.000+02:002010-07-26T23:20:32.871+02:00

Granata, in addition to being a Fini group MP, is deputy chief of the Parliament Anti-Mafia Commission. In this capacity Granata also protested that official police protection for the super-grass, Gaspare Spatuzza, who has given evidence in three ongoing trials (Palermo, Caltanissetta, Florence) has just been eliminated, endangering the life of this crucial witness. Judy Harris

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-60101872782515442092010-07-26T19:02:00.000+02:002010-07-26T23:21:41.732+02:00

“Maybe this time…” Even in these dog days of July there is febrile concern about the stability of the government and by implication the political architecture of the last 16 years. If Berlusconi goes as prime minister, the argument goes, Berlusconi-ism will collapse too and maybe this time, Italy will have sound government. There is talk of a “transitional government” even by right wing papers

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-10060896874921841042010-07-21T18:15:00.000+02:002010-07-21T18:17:31.368+02:00

Thank you for pointing out the irony of the Berlusconi government's boasting of its successes in arresting the foot soldiers of the Mafia even as so many of his party leaders and even members of the government are either under indictment or, like Senator Dell'Utri, convicted of Mafia association, a crime introduced into Italian legislation under pressure from the U.S. Incidentally, whereas

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-28020425591600103732010-07-20T18:31:00.000+02:002010-07-20T18:33:57.638+02:00

It seems like yesterday (in fact seventeen years ago) that we were passionately discussing the irruption on to the Italian political scene of Silvio 'Par Condicio' Mediaset and his lovelies. Not in my wildest dreams would I have predicted that a decade and a half later he would still be around, media empire intact, his mani demonstrably sporchi yet still making the political weather. He has seen

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Schizophrenia about mafia At the same time as the prime minister says that he is defeating mafia and is actually arresting hundreds and confiscating millions of eurosworth of property, one of his senators calls a mafioso a hero and a minister is indicted for links with the camorra. Evidence emerges that government and mafia were negotiating even as the mafia committed its most spectacular murder

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-22577015452180034992010-07-15T15:35:00.000+02:002010-12-18T16:12:40.533+01:00

The Grumbling Hive Three hundred years Bernard de Mandeville looked at English society and argued that its corruption was in fact beneficial; greed and self-interest generated public benefits according to Mandeville and the sub-title to his satire, The Grumbling Hive was Knaves turned honest. At the moment, the hive that is Italy grumbles loudly despite the exceptional heat and the prospects of

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Showdowns and curtains up (again)After long silence, I am blogging once again; I hope for all the summer and beyond. There is much to talk about in Italian politics and the difficulty is to know where to start. The medium and longterm questions and analyses can wait until August when (perhaps) there will be less day-to-day drama. So the curtain of my new season goes up on what promises to be a

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Sabbatical Diary“A year on sabbatical? That means you’ll be doing nothing for a whole year; how lucky you are”. Well, not exactly… friends often think that a sabbatical means an extended holiday which is not quite the truth.The point of this diary is not just to show the world that I am indeed working or to justify my absence to AUR though there’s a bit of that but it is mainly to show to

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-90988811183754817062009-06-25T16:20:00.000+02:002010-12-18T22:36:08.137+01:00

“Fidarsi è bene, non fidarsi è meglio” How serious is the recession in Italy? Popular wisdom in Italy advises us that “to trust is good, not to trust is better” and this, in a very down to earth phrase is what has ruined the Italian economy over the last two decades and for the moment at least, saved it from some of the more acute pain of the present recession. But now the hard reality of the

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The Berlusconi Follies Berlusconi as a Roman emperor is not an original image; the first cartoon that I can find of him as Nero fiddling is from July 2003 (with the EU burning). There are probably earlier ones and for sure there have been dozens since. But for all its predictability, the parallel is a valid one. Italy has had a stagnating economy for more than a decade and now with the recession

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-79087367726770958842009-03-27T19:35:00.000+01:002009-03-27T19:36:53.209+01:00

Black shirt or double breasted suits?When is a fascist not a fascist? Or more relevant to these time, when is an apparent democrat actually a fascist? Rivers of ink have flowed trying to pin down an acceptable definition of “fascism” and this is not going to add to the flow, but now that Italy’s self-defined “post-fascist” Alleanza Nazionale has dissolved itself ready to merge with Silvio

italpolbloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088591985622787379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540942.post-82997769143154096792009-02-17T14:22:00.000+01:002009-02-17T14:34:03.292+01:00

A tale of two memoriesItalian and German history intertwine, not always happily and this week present perceptions and past memories were brought into sharp relief in the two countries in strikingly contrasting ways. And putting the Vatican's present policies into the limelight as well.The German side is well known worldwide; on 24 January, Pope Benedict XVI removed the excommunication placed by

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